Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 320 Heaven's justice prevails: The bloody white slave trade!

Similar scenarios are constantly unfolding across China.

The location where Zhang Si'an discovered this 36-pound gold nugget was in Summerhill Creek, Australia in what is now known as Australia. However, this particular gold nugget was not the largest found there.

Leaving aside other places, let's take the "Jinshan Province" directly under the jurisdiction of the Zhao Shuo Khanate as an example.

This province included parts of what would later become New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

Gold prospectors discovered two astonishing gold nuggets.

The first gold nugget was discovered in Canada Creek, Ballarat, Victoria. This gold nugget was over 90% pure and weighed 52 pounds!
Never before has anyone seen such a large and pure gold nugget!
It's not recorded in any historical books!

Overjoyed, Song Zizhen regarded the gold nugget as an auspicious omen and sent it to Zhongdu.

As a result, less than a month after it was sent out, before it even reached Zhongdu City, the gold prospectors discovered a gold nugget weighing 106 jin (approximately 50.8 catties).

This gold nugget was discovered in a creek in Dunsborough, Victoria, where the water was less than half a foot deep and it was practically within easy reach!

The previous 52-pound gold nugget was considered "auspicious," so what about this 106-pound one?
Song Zizhen was dumbfounded and quickly presented the gold nugget as well, asking Zhao Shuo to punish him for his "recklessness".

Zhao Shuo had never been interested in local people presenting "auspicious omens".

However, in order to encourage the "gold rush", Song Zizhen was not punished, but the two huge gold nuggets were ordered to be exhibited in major cities and prefectures of China along the route.

The gold nugget was exceptionally pure and weighed 52 pounds!

The other gold nugget, though not as pure, weighed a full 106 pounds!
The two enormous gold nuggets dazzled the onlookers. When they heard about the discovery of this largest gold nugget and that the imperial court had spent 20,000 silver dollars to acquire it, their eyes lit up with envy.

Why wasn't it me?

You can get rich just by bending over!

That's 20,000 taels of silver in one go!

Such wealth is enough to last several lifetimes!

Countless ordinary people either used all their savings or took out bank loans to go to Australia to pan for gold.

Some people, like Zhou Si'an, discovered huge gold nuggets and instantly became rich. Then, they encouraged more of their fellow villagers to go to Australia.

Of course, this is a very small minority.

Most people work hard but only earn ten times the salary in China.

That's incredible!
As their letters were sent back to their hometowns, more and more people went to Australia to seek their fortune!
Zhao Shuo was of course happy to see this happen.

He was not worried at all about the lack of gold in Australia. According to later records, from the second half of 1852 to 1861, overseas immigrants began to flood into the mining areas of Australia, averaging about 40,000 people per year, including a large number of immigrants from Guangdong, China.

Melbourne was also known as the "New Gold Mountain" by the Chinese, and the Australian gold rush became a key driving force in the modern international immigration movement.

Given China's current maritime transport capabilities, it would take at least a decade or more to mine it.
Let's go pan for gold!

Go chase after wealth!

That's all what you deserve!

What are these gold nuggets that have been discovered so far? There are still many more, and even bigger, gold nuggets that haven't been found yet!

Historical records indicate that after people had panned out most of the gold in the Australian rivers, they began mining gold mines on both sides of the rivers and in the mountains.

There are also countless gold nuggets there.

The largest gold nugget was found near Molijalk in Victoria, weighing 144 pounds and containing more than 140 pounds of gold!

I just don't know who the lucky one will be who finds this nugget of gold.

As these stories of "dog's head gold" spread, people's enthusiasm for gold panning will be further enhanced.

With Australia's gold reserves nearly depleted, these gold prospectors should have kept at least 30%, right? The rest either returned to China to invest and contribute to China's economic prosperity, or they went to new places to pan for gold.

For example, the Mali Empire in Africa!
For example, the distant Americas!
For example, the islands in Southeast Asia!

Over time, driven by the pursuit of gold, the most adventurous and hardworking people among the Chinese people will spread across those remote areas, turning those places into fertile land for China, and they will also obtain enough wealth to reward their achievements!

Of course, in addition to the gold rush, the internal development of China should not be neglected.

The first experimental railway of the Zhao Shuo Khanate has already begun construction.

Don't get me wrong, the technology of steam engines is too advanced. We haven't even invented a steam engine that can be used in industry yet, let alone a train.

However, a train is a train, and a track is a track.

In real history, they were two independently invented things and had nothing to do with each other.

It is said that wooden tracks existed in China as early as the Qin Dynasty.

Historical records indicate that in the 16th century, European mines began laying wooden tracks for horse-drawn wagons. This significantly reduced wheel resistance, allowing a horse to pull five times more weight on the tracks than on a dirt road, greatly improving transportation efficiency and lowering costs.

By the late 17th century, this network of tracks was widespread in northeast England and was known as "mine roadways" or "Newcastle Roads." Mine owners would even cooperate to build the tracks, but barriers to passage also existed due to competition. At this time, the tracks gradually evolved from iron-lined wooden rails to fully iron rails.

By the 19th century, horse-drawn carriages on railway tracks had become a popular form of public transportation in many cities in Europe and America.

Because of the rails, the carriages traveled more smoothly with less resistance, and a single horse could carry far more passengers than on ordinary roads.

By 1882, the United States and Canada had 415 horse-drawn railroad lines with a total track length of 9,600 miles!

Zhao Shuo had two reasons for wanting to build the railway.

Firstly, the Zhao Shuo Khanate's steel production was simply too high. In those days, steel was mainly used for agricultural tools and weapons.

Whether used for building houses or bridges, it is difficult to balance cost-effectiveness.

Zhao Shuo couldn't just stand by and watch such a large steel production capacity gradually shrink! Besides, the Zhao Shuo Khanate had mined so many gold and silver deposits; surely all that gold and silver couldn't just sit in warehouses and get moldy?

Secondly, there is an objective need.

Horse-drawn trains not only consumed excess steel production capacity but also greatly improved the production efficiency of the Zhao Shuo Khanate.

Zhao Shuo mainly used this horse-drawn train in three aspects.

The first aspect is the use of rails to transport heavy ore within the mine. The second aspect is the connection to waterways.

Whether in this era or in later generations, water transport has always been the cheapest way to transport large quantities of goods.

However, digging a canal would be too expensive.

The Nile Canal, which is less than 400 miles long, took more than ten years to build and killed more than 800,000 people.

How many artificial canals could Zhao Shuo build in China? Even with foreign slaves, it wouldn't be enough to sustain it!

Therefore, building tracks between the rivers, instead of constructing artificial canals, and connecting them with horse-drawn trains, was a compromise.

These railway tracks will connect all parts of China more closely.

The third aspect is similar to the first experimental railway of the Zhao Shuo Khanate.

This railway was specifically used to transport coal.

After careful design by officials of the Ministry of Works, the railway started at a coal distribution yard set up in the core coal mining area of ​​Mentougou near Zhongdu and ended at a large transshipment terminal on the banks of the Yongding River.

This railway is fifty-six miles long.

Then, they were loaded onto ships on the Yongding River and transported into Zhongdu City.

Now, the total population of Zhongdu City exceeds 1.4 million, which is too many for the technological conditions of that era.

Now, two main problems have been solved. First, the problem of drinking water for the people. Second, the problem of fuel for their daily lives.

Regarding the first problem, Zhao Shuo's reconstruction of the Grand Canal partially solved it. However, further solutions will be needed.

The solution to the second problem was to burn coal instead of charcoal or wood.

With the completion of this railway, the price of coal has dropped significantly, which should solve the daily fuel problem for the people of Zhongdu.

After the success of this experimental railway, Zhao Shuo can gradually use railways, as well as horse-drawn trains, to connect rivers within the mine.

In any case, just as the gold rush was in full swing in China and internal construction was in full swing, Zhao He led an army of 30,000 to Pest, Hungary.

It has been nearly ten months since the Mongols and Europeans reached a peace agreement, and the Mongols have not yet returned to their camp.

There are two main reasons. First, Zhao He has not yet led his army to deploy in Bohemia. He can't just leave Bohemia undefended, can he?

Secondly, and most importantly, neither Guyuk nor Chagatai's bodies could withstand the long journey. Staying in the West would have allowed them to live longer. If they had set off eastward from the beginning, they would probably be in the embrace of the Eternal Heaven by now.

For these two reasons, the remaining able-bodied men in Poland and Hungary have not yet been executed.

After all, the Mongols still needed them to farm and support their army!
Buying grain entirely from the Zhao Shuo Khanate and the Jochi Khanate is not a viable option.

"What? You mean, instead of killing those Europeans, we'll sell them to Uncle Zhao Shuo?" Guiyou looked at Zhao He with a puzzled expression.

Now, Chagatai's body was still strong enough that he personally led Baidar, Kublai Khan, Möngke Khan, and others to welcome Zhao He into the Great Khan's Golden Tent.

However, Guiyou was unable to get up and could only lie on the bed when he met Zhao He.

"This is indeed my father's intention."

Zhao He nodded slightly and said, "Currently, our country is building something called railways, and mines everywhere also need manpower, so the demand for slaves is very urgent. These Europeans, after all, live in a civilized country and are much more useful than those savages in the jungles of Southeast Asia. How about twenty taels of silver per slave?"

"This...so much? There are sixty or seventy thousand able-bodied men in Poland and Hungary now. Doesn't that cost more than a million taels of silver?" Guiyou looked at Zhao He with suspicion and said, "Could it be that Uncle Zhao Shuo takes pity on me and thinks that I have gained too little from this western expedition, so he wants me to take advantage of him?"

Guiyou's words came from the bottom of his heart.

The loot from this western expedition had already been largely depleted in previous battles.

The final haul consisted of 1.5 million taels of gold and 3 million taels of silver offered by the Europeans. Oh, and there was also the 1 million taels of silver that Kublai Khan plundered in Bohemia.

Ordinary Mongol soldiers could only receive about one hundred taels of silver each after several years of fighting, which was really not much.

Güyük himself was in an even worse situation, as he had taken far too much gold and silver from the Khan's treasury to purchase military supplies.

Even if the Europeans paid reparations, it would not be enough to make up for the losses in his treasury.

If you don't count the newly acquired land, it's practically a loss.

Zhao He shook his head slightly and said, "How could that be? Now that the Hu-Qin Canal is open, transporting slaves from here to China won't cost much. Twenty taels of silver per slave can be earned back quickly. I just don't know if the Great Khan is willing to sell them?"

"Sell! Of course I'll sell! If Uncle Zhao Shuo wants it, why would I refuse?"

They were originally going to kill them all, but now they've unexpectedly received a sum of money. How could Guiyou possibly refuse?

Chagatai even felt a pang of regret, saying, "Twenty taels of silver for one European slave! If only we hadn't killed so many Europeans, we could have kept them and sold them to Ashu!"

Zhao He said, "Things are valued for their scarcity. If you had too many slaves to sell, the price wouldn't be this high."

"makes sense."

Chagatai nodded and said, "What about now? My army stationed in eastern Hungary is just sitting idle anyway. If we capture some people from western Hungary to sell, could you buy them for twenty taels each?"

Zhao He said, "You have too few troops left in Hungary. I don't recommend starting a war with Europe lightly. Don't rush, there's plenty of time. Next time we conquer Europe, we'll sell all the cities that don't surrender into slavery."

Chagatai and Guyuk exchanged a glance and said with regret, "I'm afraid we won't live to see that day."

Kublai Khan's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "If we don't attack Europe, we can let others do it! There are many countries on the African continent that have dealings with Europe. Brother Zhao He, what do you think? If we let these countries come and plunder slaves from Europe, and you pay them twenty taels of silver each, wouldn't that be very advantageous for us?"

clever!

Kublai Khan truly deserves to be called a brilliant and outstanding figure in history; he actually came up with such a brilliant plan.

Historical records indicate that from the 16th to the early 19th century, the true god pirates of North Africa (mainly from Algeria, Tunisia, Tripolitania, and Morocco in later generations) were also known as the "Barbarians".

These pirates would raid coastal villages and towns in fast sailing ships, plundering their goods and kidnapping anyone they could. They even attacked merchant ships on the high seas, capturing the entire crew!

They systematically raided coastal regions of Europe, including the British Isles, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and even Iceland. Their goal was to capture Europeans as slaves.

Historians estimate that between one million and one million two hundred and fifty thousand white Europeans may have been captured and sold into slavery over a period of more than two centuries.

Now, with Kublai Khan's word, the Western white slave trade has entered the historical stage ahead of schedule!
(End of this chapter)